Question about focusing lenses?

So after having my laserbtb order seized by customs today I've decided the DIY route might be best

Gonna start out real simple. I'm looking at getting one of these 510 threaded modules from DTR. Which is perfect for the mech mods I already having laying around.

My question is, do I still need or should I get a glass lense w/ focus ring?

The module I'm considering is the 2W M462 22mm Module W/1.8A X-Drive & 405-G-2 Glass Lens
https://sites.google.com/site/dtrlpf/home/diodes/m462-462nm-laser-diode

Edit:

I can't seem to find much about these modules. Do they need heatsinks? What kind of duty cycles might I expect?

Anyone have any experience with these modules?

I'm also considering the more powerful module
https://sites.google.com/site/dtrlpf/home/diodes/9mm-445nm

The 510 module are heatsink themself. All you need to do is to put that into a mechanical mod. As for the lense, the G2 lense will give a higher output but the 3 element lense will give a better beam spot.

Edit: Check thislink out

marcuspeh said:

The 510 module are heatsink themself. All you need to do is to put that into a mechanical mod. As for the lense, the G2 lense will give a higher output but the 3 element lense will give a better beam spot.

Click to expand...

Awesome, that's kinda what I thought.
Seriously, this is the best news I've had all day. I've been browsing for a couple hours now trying to figure out the best route for my first build

So if I got the 405-G-2 Glass Lens W/Focus Ring does that scew right into the end then?
https://sites.google.com/site/dtrlpf/home/glass-lenses

There's 2 I'm debating on now. But since I'd be picking up the nicer lense w/ focus adapter would it matter which of these I got?
445nm 9mm Diode In 22mm Module W/2.4A X-Drive & Three Element Glass Lens
445nm 9mm Diode In 22mm Module W/2.4A X-Drive & 405-G-2 Glass Lens
https://sites.google.com/site/dtrlpf/home/diodes/9mm-445nm

Obviously I'm trying to maximize my output and get the smallest beam possible. I'll be blasting pests and bacteria colonies in my reef tank so precision and speed is the ultimate goal.

mbcolangelo said:

So after having my laserbtb order seized by customs today I've decided the DIY route might be best

Gonna start out real simple. I'm looking at getting one of these 510 threaded modules from DTR. Which is perfect for the mech mods I already having laying around.

My question is, do I still need or should I get a glass lense w/ focus ring?

Click to expand...

The lens and focus ring are included, you don't need to buy them separately.

Edit: for your purpose get the G2 lens due to higher power output.

Alan

Pi R Squared said:

The lens and focus ring are included, you don't need to buy them separately.

Edit: for your purpose get the G2 lens due to higher power output.

Alan

Click to expand...

Thanks! Really appreciate the help!

I'll be going with this then.
445nm 9mm Diode In 22mm Module W/2.4A X-Drive & 405-G-2 Glass Lens

Any thoughts on duty cycle? Think I could get a full minute before needing to cool down?

TY Again!

mbcolangelo said:

Thanks! Really appreciate the help!

I'll be going with this then.
445nm 9mm Diode In 22mm Module W/2.4A X-Drive & 405-G-2 Glass Lens

Any thoughts on duty cycle? Think I could get a full minute before needing to cool down?

TY Again!

Click to expand...

Good choice, that should give you about a 3W laser, I have one too but not in one of these new 510 threaded modules so I can't say on duty cycle. One minute at most with that diode, guessing by the size of the module it's probably about 45 seconds.

Alan

This is a pretty big relief. Don't have to worry about customs now. I was pretty bummed when my package got siezed.

This is the 2nd b-day gift they've stole lol!! Few years ago they siezed an Android tablet because it "didn't have an RoHS sticker"

Yeah I don't like the idea of buying internationally unless it's something sure to not have a problem with customs. Plus you can have to wait a month or more. I have plenty of stuff made in China, but it all came from Walmart, including 2 lasers. :crackup:

Alan

Does this need 2 or 3 18650's?

Top of the page it mentions 3 18650's with a link to an LPF thread.. But below the product name it says "(Use with 6-9V or two 3.7V Li-Ions!!!)"

3 18650's would be 11~ vdc.

It has an X-drive, only two 18650.

Alan

mbcolangelo said:

Does this need 2 or 3 18650's?

Top of the page it mentions 3 18650's with a link to an LPF thread.. But below the product name it says "(Use with 6-9V or two 3.7V Li-Ions!!!)"

3 18650's would be 11~ vdc.

Click to expand...

Yea just two Li-ions. Where do you see it say three? If it does somewhere it should be changed. Three will not hurt it but it will reduce the driver duty cycle. What mech mod did you get? I use this one for my personal units. It is a pretty nice mod.
https://www.fasttech.com/p/1962001

You can see some pics of it here on one of my old style units.
https://sites.google.com/site/dtrshostheatsinkkitpage/hosts-for-510-threaded-modules

Also this thread has a lot of different ones you can check out.:beer:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/dtr-le-adapter-v1-92612.html

DTR said:

Yea just two Li-ions. Where do you see it say three? If it does somewhere it should be changed. Three will not hurt it but it will reduce the driver duty cycle. What mech mod did you get? I use this one for my personal units. It is a pretty nice mod.
https://www.fasttech.com/p/1962001

You can see some pics of it here on one of my old style units.
https://sites.google.com/site/dtrshostheatsinkkitpage/hosts-for-510-threaded-modules

Also this thread has a lot of different ones you can check out.:beer:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/dtr-le-adapter-v1-92612.html

Click to expand...

It's actually in one of the link titles at the top.
"3 Watt BIG BOY single diode blue laser 3X18650"


I have a brass Tesla dragon clone currently that I might use.
https://m.fasttech.com/products/3027/10009951/1945200-tesla-antique-dragon-18650-mechanical-mod

I have a few others laying around. Most have very worn threads though from excessive use and changing atomizers. Like so worn the top half of threads are basically gone and I've had to lower the firing pins depth just to get a little more threads. So I also picked up this last night too.
New Mechanical Mod in Black Stainless Steel and Gold Gold and Stainless Steel | eBay

I couldn't find any stick mods that will hold 2x18650s but I've got some high drain 18350 and 16340. Looks like I'll have to pull the button tops off, at least that's the case for my Tesla.

The only possible downside to using these mods is that none are push on/off. So I'll probably be looking into ways to modify or replace the tail cap. Might make it easier to keep a steady hand.

I thought I saw it mentioned in another thread (I'll have to look again tonight) but if you had an electronic mod that would recognize this, you could kinda control it's power too right?

I'll be playing it pretty safe with this first module as far as tinkering goes. But in the near future I'll most likely pick up the parts to build my own to experiment with and learn from. I wouldn't mind having a few 510 modules in other wavelengths.


Btw if you hadn't already noticed, I ordered the module last night

Mods look great. The units with the X-drives like this can work with some VV/VW mods but some give an atomizer error as they don't read any resistance.

Module came in this morning! I was not expecting it so soon

Works great. I played with it a little bit. I gotta wait until son goes to bed though, he's nosey and I don't want him around it.

I'm gonna search the forums for solutions too. Is there anything I can do to reduce the divergence? I've focused it on a distant object (150' away maybe). It's a line, which I've learned is the norm for 445, and I can get it pretty narrow. But it's still a very long line.

Either way, it works awesome in my tank, objects less then 12" away. I just have to be careful with reflections lol. At one point I didn't realize I had it at a slight angle and cinged some hair off the back of my hand.

Edit: just thought I'd add, as funny as it is that I cinged the hair on my hand. I'm wearing safety glasses. It's a MUS, in ggeneral but especially if you're shining this thing on glass. You might *think* you have it straight but you almost certainly don't and it's way to easy to accidentally reflect this back at yourself or someone nearby with possible devastating consequences.

I'll make sure to write up a positive review in the feedback forum tonight too! I'm very impressed with how quickly it arrives and how great it works!

looks like I found most of my 445nm "line issue" answers in this thread
.
http://laserpointerforums.com/f49/dreamlasers-have-beam-corrective-optics-56721.html#post802527

Not really a big deal anyways, primary use is targets less then 12" and the line issue is hardly noticeable

what's interesting is I canabilized an overhead lcd projector last week and salvaged all the optics stuff.

There's more then a few lenses. One in particular though seems to correct the rectangular beam issue. At about 3" out its a very, very fine beam but beyond that it diverges very quickly into a giant blurry circle.

Gonna browse through the forums more tonight and try to learn more about optics.